Legends of the Guardians: The Power of Five
by Moonclaw and Chance
Summary: When the darkness shrouds the land once protected by the moon, a small group sets out to locate the cave that is said to hold the key to banish darkness. But the trials ahead of them might prove to be too much for each of them alone, only together will they hope to free the children from a life filled with fear and darkness. This is my own AU. Rated T just to be safe.
1. The Danger Reveals itself

_**An: Alright guys, this is the first chapter of my RotG AU. Please enjoy and see the question(s) at the end of this chapter ;)**_

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"Come on, Emma! You're going to make us late!" A young blonde haired girl called to a young brown haired girl as she rushed after a slightly older boy. The other girl sighed as she brushed back her hair.

"Lilly…Please slow down…" The brown-haired girl begged as she stopped to catch her breath, _why did the lake seem so far now? Could it be because the accident? _She wondered to herself and then she shoved the thought out of her mind, she refused to even recognize that horrible day that had changed her life forever.

Emma glanced around; the night was slowly coming into the village, the moon shone brightly as if protecting the town with its light. But no child would be fooled by this false comfort, they all knew that the darkness held dangers that few adults would even acknowledge. Dangers that rarely caused physical harm but provided plenty of fear and pain.

Emma paused in her thoughts and then rushed after her friends; the moonlight seemed to encircle them in a comforting blanket of light. _Almost there…_ She thought to herself as she started to see the large rock that poked up from the lake they were heading towards. _Almost there…_

This had quickly become tradition for the village kids, every night the moon was visible, they would travel towards the nearby lake where the water was always still. On the lake, standing both humble and proud, stood a large crystal made of the purest ice. There, the moon would supply a show that varied from night to night. Several of the shows included a few moments when the wind would circle the crystal, often carrying snow along with it. The strangest thing was the snow always seemed so alive, as if just touching it would cause it to take the form of some person or animal.

"Emma, Lilly, Cody! You guys made it!" One of the younger kids shouted upon seeing the trio.

"You didn't think we'd miss a show, did you Alex?" Cody asked as he sat down next to the other boy, Emma sat more off to the side were she felt more comfortable. No matter how many times her friends told her it was safe, she refused to sit towards the middle of the lake where the crystal was located.

Lilly sat close to Cody and then glanced around for Emma before patting the ice next to her, "Come on, you can sit here." She urged her but Emma just shook her head, "Please?"

"Lilly, you know why I won't sit there…" Emma's voice slowly trialed off as her mind went back to that day, her mind was pulled back into the present when the wind whirled past her and then swirled around the crystal. Emma sighed in relief, now she could just enjoy the show. None of the kids would dare interrupt one of the moon's stories.

Little did they children know, two pairs of yellow eyes watched them from the darkness of the bushes. Snorts were passed between the two creatures before one of them galloped away deeper into the forest, the other creature snorted again and then trotted through the shadows towards the other side of the clearing. They had their orders and now was the time to follow through with the plan so many years in the making.

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Everything was running smoothly, the show was nearing an end and the children were getting tired. But just as the show was about to end, a massive cloud covered the moon thus throwing the clearing along with the children into darkness.

Stunned panic erupted mostly in the smaller children; Emma looked around nervously and then froze when she saw two sharp yellow eyes staring at her from the darkness of the trees. A sharp whinny followed and then the creature charged right for her, Emma tried to run but her body just wouldn't listen she was trapped…

"Emma!" Cody and Lilly yelled fearfully as they too saw the creature charge for their friend. But before anyone could react, the ice seemed to melt right underneath the creature and catch its legs in the icy prison. The creature neighed and whinnied in pure anger before a blast of blue energy caused it to disappear into the darkness; Emma sat there in pure shock. _What just happened?_ She wondered but her thoughts were cut short when all around them more creatures charged at the village children.

All they could think to do was scream as they braced for impact, but when none came they looked around again and were shocked at what they saw. All of the creatures were trapped once more just like the first one, but this time a solid _thwack_ sounded and then a wall of ice blasted outwards. As the ice passed over the creatures, they all disappeared into the night and then silence dominated the clearing once more.

Emma glanced around once more, half expecting more of those creatures to appear but all she saw was the clearing that they had always visited before. However one thing caught her eye, just a faint tint of brown before it vanished. Emma was almost sure that she remembered that shade of brown, as she thought more on it she finally realized, "Could it be?" She whispered but her friends spoke up.

"Emma, we have to go…Now!" Lilly cried desperately and Cody nodded.

"Yeah, let's go tell Sable and Nord what happened here. They're smart and will most likely know what to do." Cody told her and then Emma nodded before she helped her friends herd the smaller kids out of the clearing.

Emma glanced back just one more time and then caught sight of a figure in the tree, but just the moment that it came it disappeared. She sighed and then followed her friends towards the village.

_"You're a good leader, kid…Just keep the others safe and I think you will be just fine."_ A voice said and then the clearing was silent once more.

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_**An: Okay, so just a few questions before you guys go:**_

_**What do you think happened at the lake? Who are Sable and Nord? What could those creatures want? Who's voice was that at the end?**_

_**Thanks for reading and I hope you liked it! :)**_


	2. The Journey Begins

_**An: Chapter two! :D Okay, I got a few reviews so let me address them here real quick:**_

_**The One Named MoonLight: Yes it is my AU idea :) I'm glad it is seeming "fresh," and such :D And that is a good guess! Can't tell you though XD**_

_**Foxface 2001: Well, thank you! :D And I did write more XD Also great guess! :)**_

_**Okay, onto the story! :D**_

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In an old seemingly abandoned barn, two men were working. Well one was working while the other was merely helping.

A short dark blonde-haired man watched in exhausted interest as his friend tweaked with some kind of wooden object. Whatever it was, his friend was sure excited about it.

"You see, Sable. If this works out then the children will have something new to play with, I just need to get rid of all of these splinters…" The larger man then started to chip away at the flaws of the wooden toy; Sable yawned and then laid his head on his arms as he watched his friend from his spot at the table. "Now if I could find a way to control that heat around ice then I could make ice pieces, how fun would those be?"

Sable glanced up at him and then spun his fore-finger in a circle, symbolizing that he thought it would be pretty fun.

"I thought so, thanks Sable." He then went back to work; Sable sighed softly and then lifted his head at the sound of fast footfalls.

"Sable, Nord!" Cody called out as he and Lilly slid into the barn, the large man turned and then greeted them.

"Cody, Lilly. What brings you two here?" He asked and Sable nodded in agreement to what he was saying.

"Nord, we were at the lake and then this cloud blocked the moon and then-BOOM!-this big mean horse-looking thing came up and then-GRRRRRR!-attacked Emma and then-."

"Wait, is everyone alright?" Nord asked in alarm, Cody nodded.

"Yeah, but anyway then the ice melted underneath the horse and then a bright blue light made it disappear then more of the horses came out of the forest but then the ice melted underneath them then a huge wall of ice slammed into them and then the clearing was quiet again…" Cody finished and then he took a deep breath in before letting it out slowly.

Sable blinked at the information and then glanced over to Nord, "Well, that is pretty weird…"

"Are you guys going to make them go away?" Lilly asked hopefully with big green eyes.

"Well, you see…We can't really…" Nord stopped when Sable raised his hand, he then gave his friend a look before Nord sighed, "What would you two suggest?"

"I heard of this one story from my big brother who heard it from his friend's brother who heard from-."

"Please, Cody. Get to the point."

"Oh, right!" Cody smiled and then continued, "Anyway, I heard a story of a cave where the moon is always visible, I think that is where the moon is said to choose a selected few to defeat the darkness."

"That's pretty impressive, Cody." Nord told the young brown-haired boy and then Cody smiled shyly.

"Thanks, so do you think you guys are two of those people?" Cody asked curiously.

"Yeah, are you?" Lilly gave them a hopeful look.

"I don't know about that but maybe if we find the cave the 'heroes,' will reveal themselves." Nord said and then Sable stretched out his arms, he knew that there was no stopping Nord now. He was always the adventurous type while Sable just mostly went where his friends went. Sable grabbed a pair of whips, whatever they would find on this journey he wanted to be ready for it.

"Are you guys going to find the cave?" Cody asked in excitement.

"We are going to try." Nord responded and then Cody smiled brightly.

"Oh, good! But can you guys wait until we can get everyone together?"

"Yeah, everyone will want to say goodbye." Lilly agreed.

Nord glanced to Sable and he gave him a smile and thumbs up, "Sure, we have to gather a few more things away."

"Okay! Come Lilly!" Cody shouted happily as he ran out of the barn with his friend in tow.

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Later, when Nord and Sable were heading towards the main path that would take them to the next town, they saw several children waiting for them.

"Nord! Sable!" Cody greeted them and then all of the children said their goodbyes, a few of them even gave the two of them gifts and hugs.

"We'll miss you guys, but you'll come back right?" Cody asked and all of the children looked to them expectedly.

"Of course we will." Nord answered and Sable gave him a sad look before they said their goodbyes and then headed towards the path.

"Wait!"

Nord and Sable looked back just in time to see a young brown-haired girl rush out of the crowd, "I need to ask a favor of you guys." She said in a slightly shy voice.

"What is it, Emma?" Nord asked as he got down to her level.

"I-I was hoping that you'd keep an eye out for my brother…I know that it's been several months but I _know_ that he's still out there…If you find him and he can't come back home…could you at least tell him that I love him and that I'm sorry…?" Emma asked hopefully before looking up at them with her soft brown eyes.

Nord sighed heavily before glancing at Sable, with a soft nod Sable urged his friend. "We will keep a look out for him, Emma. We promise."

Emma brightened and then she gave them a hug, "Thank you, and make sure you guys are careful!"

"We will be." Nord smiled before they finally headed out onto the trail, the children waved to them until they could no longer see their dear friends anymore. A sick feeling then filled them, as if they would never see the two ever again.

Above, in a nearby tree, a figure thought for a moment before following the two adults. _"I hope you know what you are doing…Somehow I don't think I will be welcomed with open arms…"_ He said as he followed them from a distance. Behind the clouds, a dull shimmer of light could just barely been seen before it was silenced once more.

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_**An: Okay, question time! XD**_

_**Who are Sable and Nord? What do you think of Cody and Lilly? Why do the kids feel like they won't see them again? Why is the figure following them? Who are they talking to? Who is the figure?**_

_**What would YOU like to happen next? What do you think will happen next?**_

**_Alright, thanks for reading and please review! :D_**


	3. The Group Grows

Sable let loose a yawn as he stretched out his arms in an attempt to keep himself awake, Nord sliced through some low-hanging branches and then glanced around them, "Keep up, Sable. I heard that in these woods is a beast like none anyone has ever seen."

Sable causally rolled his eyes as he brushed away a branch, he took a few more steps forward and then heard a rustle in the bushes. His eyes widened and then he looked towards the brush to his right, the bushes shook for a moment before becoming silent once more. Sable could hear his friend still talking but he was determined to figure out what was hiding in the bushes.

He pushed away some of the bushes and then was caught off guard when a boomerang slapped onto his hand, he winced and then rubbed his hand in shocked pain as a voice rang through the forest: "Oi, what do you think you're doing in _my_ forest?"

Sable looked up just in time to see a towering man standing in front of him, Sable frowned nervously and then glanced back hoping that Nord would have heard the commotion and come to help him. He was disappointed when he saw that Nord wasn't coming back, it was times like these that Sable truly loathed not being able to speak for himself.

"I just asked you a question, mate." The man stated with a fair amount of anger behind his voice, Sable waved his hands in front of him in a passive gesture before trying to explain to the man through gestures. "What are you doing? I'm not in the mood to guess, you have a voice don't you?"

Sable sighed and then shook his head, this got the man's full attention, "You can't talk?"

"Sable? Where are you?" Sable was happy to have heard his friend's voice again; Nord stepped into the clearing with a shove of the branches from above. "Who is this?"

The man raised his head high regally, "My name is Lapin, and I am the protector of this forest."

"Your name is 'Rabbit?'" Nord asked with a slightly amused face.

The man seemed indignant by this comment, "I will have you know that it is a very dignified and humble name!"

"Alright, alright. Calm down rabbit-man." Nord said passively but this just made Lapin angrier.

"My name is Lapin!"

"And you said that you are the 'protector' of this forest? Do you have your ID to prove that or should I look at the nearest leaf for your information? Oh, I'm sorry. I think I just cleansed myself with your ID."

"Enough!" Lapin seemed to growl, he took a challenging step towards Nord and Sable had to take at least two steps back to get out of his way, "I am the protector of this forest and it belongs to me, and now you two are a threat."

"Oh, we are a threat huh? Well, I'd love to burst your bubble so I will." Nord said as he touched the handle to one of his swords, Sable had his hands over both of his whips just in case his friend decided to strike. "We were just going to peacefully move through this forest, but now you want to fight so let's get this over with."

And with that, Nord pulled his swords out of their sheaths and Sable slapped his whip in the grass next to him that, despite the grass breaking its fall, made a satisfying sound. Lapin unsheathed his other boomerang and held both of them in a defensive posture, "Make your move, mate."

_"Oh great…Well this won't work…"_ The figure said from their spot in the trees, they glanced down towards the ground and then spoke, _"Hey, bud. Would you mind breaking this up for me?"_

**_"Of course, master."_** A deep voice replied and then a dark shape walked out of the shadow of the trees, the creature opened his wild yellow eyes and then growled at the humans who could not see him yet due to the trees.

Sable paused when he heard the sound, he glanced over his shoulder and then his eyes widened as he saw the two glistening eyes watching them. Sable nervously gestured towards the eyes in an attempt to get the others' attention; Nord raised an eyebrow at his friend and then spoke, "What is it, Sable?"

Sable pointed towards the creature as it stepped into the light, its fangs bared and pupils locked into slits of dark grey. Nord froze for a moment then he regained his courage and held out his swords towards the creature, "This must be the creature of legend."

"I doubt that mate, I've been in this forest for years and I have never seen this thing anywhere around here." Lapin pointed out as the creature spread its maw and a warm orange color glowed from its throat and chest, "It's going to blow!"

Lapin, despite his previous anger, jumped at the other two and then they were all sent sprawling out of the way of the creature when it let loose a jet of flame. The creature snapped its jaw shut and snorted out a puff of smoke in displeasure at the fact that it had missed, _"Good, now keep it believable. Just make sure you don't injure them too bad and return once you have had enough."_

**_"Yes, sir."_** The creature replied before he felt something slam onto his snout, he looked down just in time to see that the end of a whip had locked onto his maw. The creature bucked as he tried to spread his mouth but he noticed that all three of the humans were holding onto the other side of the whip. He uttered a deep growl as he glared at the humans.

"Look at the size of this thing; can you imagine the money people would pay to see this thing?" Lapin asked as he dug his feet into the ground when the creature tossed his head in frustration.

"Well what should we do with it?" Nord asked, the creature dug in its back feet and then bucked again. Just as the three men struggled to keep it grounded, the rope snapped much to the surprise of not only the men but the creature as well. But the creature didn't hesitate more than a moment; it wheeled around and then took off into the sky with a few beats of his massive wings.

"That was surprising…This grass is really soft." Nord commented as he bounced slightly on the grass.

"That isn't grass, mate…Get. Off!"

Nord glanced down and then jolted upwards, Lapin rolled off to the side and then Nord could see Sable lying in the spot that Lapin had just been. Sable was halfway into the ground with his face buried in the grass and dirt.

"Sable! Are you ok?" Nord asked as he helped his friend up, Sable held up his fore-finger and then collapsed back to the ground on his back, now out-cold. "I killed him!"

"You didn't kill him."

"Huh?" Nord looked around the clearing at the sound of the voice; a figure hiding in the bushes stood out into the light and then brushed back their hair from their face.

The light-brown haired young woman smiled as she held the blade of her sword to the ground, "He's very much alive, he just has a little headache from almost being crushed."

Lapin examined the rope and then held it up towards the woman, "You cut it, didn't you?"

The woman smiled, "Of course I did, Lapin. That creature wasn't yours to keep."

Lapin threw the rope to the ground and then glared at the woman, "Dent, I told you not to interfere. I had this under control."

"Sure you did, I saw you losing your temper to these two." Dent said as she gestured towards Nord and Sable.

"I was not!" Lapin growled.

"Just stop right now, Lapin. You are making a fool out of yourself." Dent said before she sheathed her weapon and then she placed her hands on her hips, "So, travelers. You have obviously met my comrade, Lapin. In case you didn't hear it, my name's Dent. And if I may ask, what is your business in our forest?"

Nord hesitated for a moment or two, he didn't like Lapin but Dent seemed nice enough. He sighed and then started to explain, "Me and Sable were just heading towards the next city, we are searching for information on the moon cave of legend."

If Lapin had been drinking something he most likely would have choked on it, it seemed like he had choked on his own saliva because he coughed and gagged before shouting in startled alarm, "What!?"

"Why are you heading towards the cave?" Dent asked curiously, ignoring her friend's stunned objections.

"Something has attacked the children in our village; they believe it to be the darkness. One of them thinks that if we go to the cave that we will be able to help destroy the darkness. We are just searching for the heroes of legend." Nord explained and then Dent seemed to brighten.

"You mean, you guys are going on an adventure?" Dent asked with certain awe in her voice, Nord nodded and then Dent looked to Lapin, "Well, would you two mind if we join you?"

"What!? Dent we have to stay here and-."

"Lapin, the forest will be fine without us. Now, may we join you?" Dent looked hopefully at Nord as he thought for a moment or two.

"Alright, you two can come." Nord said and then Dent cheered in joy while Lapin facepalmed with a groan.

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_**An: Okay guys, two things real quick before you go. First off, I need ideas on what should happen on their adventure. Please help me out :) And question time!**_

_**Who are Lapin and Dent? Why doesn't Lapin like Nord? Why did Dent free the creature? Why did Nord say that they could come with them?**_

_**Please review and thanks for reading! :D**_


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